1154 Bulletin 47, United States National Museum. 



Epinephelus pundatus, POEY, Enumeratio, 16, 1875. 



Epinephelus atlanticus, JORDAN & GILBERT, Synopsis, 918, 973, 1883. 



EpinepJielus ascensionis, JORDAN & SWAIN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1884, 391. 



Epinephelus adscensianis, JORDAN & EIGENMANN, /. c., 354, 1890; BOULENGER, Cat., i, 



Epinephelus aspersus, JORDAN & EIGENMANN, I. c., 358. 



1548. EPINEPHELUS GUAZA (Linnanis). 

 (MEROU ; MERO ; GUASA.) 



Head 2i; depth 2; eye 5f in head. D. XI, 15; A. Ill, 8; scales 12 to 

 17-100 to 120-42 to 55, pores 55 to 60. Body rather deep ; profile steep ; 

 snout short, rather pointed ; lower jaw little projecting; canines small; 

 preopercle without salient angle, the teeth just above the angle large 

 and strong ; lower limb of preopercle entire. Scales of head cycloid. 

 Gill rakers very short, x + 15. Interorbital space narrow, not as wide as 

 eye; maxillary naked, 2f in head. Third dorsal spine highest, 2f in 

 head; anal high and rounded, its second spine 5 in head; caudal 

 rounded ; pectoral 1$ to 2 in head ; ventral short, not reaching vent. 

 Color in spirits : Dark brown, with rather faint, round, whitish spots 

 which are irregular, and arranged somewhat in vertical rows, and most 

 distinct on caudal peduncle; dorsal, anal, caudal, and pectorals broadly 

 edged with black. Coasts of southern Europe and western Africa, rang- 

 ing north to England and westward to Cape of Good Hope and Rio 

 Janeiro, and to Guiana ; reaching a length of 3 feet, and weight 

 of about 25 pounds. This description is taken from No. 4506, M. C. Z., 

 15 inches long, collected at Rio de Janeiro by Professor Agassiz. There is 

 not much doubt that Epinephelus brachysomus, Cope, and the Brazilian 

 specimens referred by Cuvier & Valenciennes to Epinephelus dichropterus, 

 belong to this form, for which the earliest American specific name is 

 mentzeli. We are, however, unable to see any difference between the 

 Brazilian form and the common " Me"rou " of the Mediterranean. (Guasa 

 or Guaza, Spanish name of the large fishes called Merous or Garrupas.) 

 (Eu.) 



Labrus guaza, LiNN.ffiU8, Syst. Nat., Ed. x, 1758, 285, " Habitat in Pelago. 



Perca gigas, BRUNNICH, Ichthyol. Massiliensis, 65, No. 81, 17G8, Marseilles. 



Holocentrus merou, LACEPEDE, Hist. Nat. Poiss., iv, 377, 1803, Marseilles; after BRUNNICH. 



Serranus mentzeli, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., n, 291, 1828, coast of Brazil; 



GUNTHER, Cat., I, 140, 1859. 



Percarobusta, COUCH, Mag. Nat. Hist., 1832, v, 21, fig. 7, Polperro, Cornwall. 

 Serranus marginatus, LOWE, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1833, 142, Madeira. (Coll. K. T. Lowe.) 

 Serranus fimbriatus, LOWE, Trans. Cambr. Phil. Soc., 1836, 195, pi. i, Madeira. (Coll. E. T. 



Lowe.) 



Serranus ongus, GtJNTHER, Cat., i, 142, 1859; not Epinephelus ongus, BLOCH, a Japanese fish. 

 Epinephelus brachysomus, COPE, Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. Phila., 1871, 466, Rio Janeiro. 

 Serranus gigas, CUVIER & VALENCIENNES, Hist. Nat. Poiss., n, 270, pi. xxxn, 1828; GUNTHER, 



Cat., i, 132, 1859, and of European authors generally. 

 Cerna gigas, DODERLEIN, Rivista del Genere Epinephelus o Cerna, 1882, 10, tab. 1, fig. 1 (detailed 



description and synonymy). 

 Epinephelus gigas, JORDAN & SWAIN, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1884, 388; JORDAN & EIGENMANN, 



I. c., 359; BOULENQER, Cat., i, 232. 



